Auto-rack railroad car vehicle wheel chock

ABSTRACT

A vehicle wheel chock for a vehicle restraint system for an auto-rack railroad car which secures a vehicle in the auto-rack railroad car. The vehicle wheel chock is configured to be positioned on a grating adjacent to a tire of the vehicle.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/048,402(now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,976,255) filed Mar. 14, 2008 which is anon-provisional of and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/939,277, filed May 21, 2007and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/896,625, filed Mar.23, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

This application relates to the following commonly owned patentapplications: “AUTO-RACK RAILROAD CAR VEHICLE WHEEL CHOCK,” Ser. No.13/152,541; “AUTO-RACK RAILROAD CAR VEHICLE WHEEL CHOCK,” Ser. No.13/152,544 (now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,424).

BACKGROUND

The railroad industry employs a variety of auto-rack railroad cars fortransporting newly-manufactured vehicles such as automobiles, vans andtrucks. Auto-rack railroad cars, known in the railroad industry asauto-rack cars, often travel thousands of miles through varying terrain.One typical type of auto-rack car is compartmented, having two or threefloors or decks, two sidewalls, a pair of doors at each end, and a roof.Newly manufactured vehicles are loaded into and unloaded from anauto-rack car for transport by a person (sometimes called a “loader”)who drives the vehicles into or out of the auto-rack car.

One problem with auto-rack cars is the potential for damage to newlymanufactured vehicles which can occur in the auto-rack car due to theunwanted movement of one or more of the transported vehicles notadequately secured in the auto-rack car. Various restraint or anchoringsystems have been developed for securing the vehicles transported inauto-rack cars to prevent movement or shifting of those vehicles duringtransportation. The loader typically operates these vehicle restraint oranchoring systems. One known type of system employs a “tie down”restraint using chains connected to steel runners in the support surfaceof the auto-rack car. A ratchet tool is usually required to secure thesechains taut. Certain types of these known systems utilize winchmechanisms and harnesses which must be fitted over the vehicle tires torestrain movement of the vehicle.

To solve the disadvantages of such mechanisms, a vehicle restraintsystem for restraining vehicles transported on auto-rack cars wasdeveloped. This vehicle restraint system is disclosed in detail in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,312,213 and 5,302,063. This vehicle restraint systemincludes a plurality of restraints each detachably secured to a gratingprovided on a support surface of the auto-rack car. This system utilizesfour restraints, one associated with each of the four wheels of avehicle being transported.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the restraint 32 of this known systemincludes an angled face-plate 34 for alignment with, and restrainingmovement of, a tire 40 of an associated wheel 42 of the vehicle 44positioned on the grating 38. The angled face-plate 34 is verticallyadjustable to a lower position (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), an intermediateposition (not shown), and an upper position (shown in phantom in FIG. 2)to provide for different tire sizes. The angled face-plate 34 isattached to a load-transmitting member 36 which is adapted to transferthe load applied to the face-plate 34 to the grating 38. The restraint32 includes a moveable paddle-shaped restraining member 39 whichcontacts the inside surface of the tire to prevent lateral shifting ofthe tire and thus of the vehicle. The paddle shaped restraining member39 is connected to the face-plate 34 such that when the face-plate isvertically adjusted, the paddle shaped restraining member is verticallyadjusted. For several years, this vehicle restraint system has beenwidely employed in auto-rack cars to secure vehicles.

Various problems have developed with this vehicle restraint system inrelation to new types or designs of vehicles such as “cross-over”vehicles and other vehicles with different body and particularlydifferent fender, molding or trim profiles. For example, cross-overvehicles generally include a truck or SUV-type body mounted on anautomobile-type frame. These cross-over vehicles have a higher center ofgravity, a much lower curb weight than conventional automobiles andSUV's, and include relatively low fenders, moldings, trim and bumpers(compared to certain trucks, vans and SUVs). Other new vehicles alsohave low fenders, moldings, trim and bumpers. When such vehicles areloaded in an auto-rack railroad car on the grating of the vehiclerestraint system described above, it has been found that these knownvehicle restraints are not adequately holding the vehicles in place oradequately preventing the movement of the vehicles to a minimum desiredlevel of movement. This lack of restraint occurs, at least in part,because the adjustable member or face-plate 34 of such above describedrestraints cannot be mounted or positioned with the face-plate in theintermediate or upper positions because it will or may interfere with orcontact the low bumper, fender, trim or molding of the vehicle asillustrated in phantom in FIG. 2. Vehicle manufacturers want to avoidsuch contact or potential contact during the transportation of thevehicles to avoid damage to the vehicles.

More specifically, it should be appreciated that vehicle manufacturersprovide extremely particular instructions which warn against any contactor engagement between anything in the auto-rack railroad cars and thenew vehicles because the vehicle manufacturers desire to deliver thenewly manufactured vehicles to dealers and their customers in “perfect”condition. Any damage, such as scratches or dents to the fenders,bumpers, moldings, trim or other parts of the vehicle, could prevent orinhibit a customer from purchasing or taking delivery of the vehicle,and generally need to be fixed prior to sale of the vehicle.Accordingly, vehicle manufacturers prefer that the adjustable face-plate34 of the restraint of the above system not contact and not come closeto being in contact with the fenders, bumpers, trim or moldings of thenewly manufactured vehicles being transported. The adjustable face-plate34 of the above described restraint must accordingly be placed in thelowest or, at best, the intermediate position when securing manypresently manufactured vehicles in the auto-rack cars. This causes theface-plate to engage the tire at a lower point on the tire, andaccordingly, the vehicle is more likely to be able to jump over or hopthe restraint (as illustrated in FIG. 3) if the vehicle is subjected tosufficient forces.

Even when the face-plate is in the highest position, other problems withholding the tire in place often occur, especially where the vehicles donot have locking steering columns. The cause for these problems is thatthe paddle-shaped restraining member 39 contacts the side of the tire 40at too high of a position which allows the tire to turn and to bedisengaged from the face-plate of the restraint 32 as generallyillustrated in FIG. 3A. In certain instances, the vehicle literally“walks out” of this restraint 32 as illustrated in FIG. 3A. Thisillustration is generally of a photograph taken inside an auto-rackrailroad car employing the above described vehicle restraint system.

It should be appreciated that each tire of vehicle has a safe zone ofoperation (in front and in back of the tire) for a vehicle restraintsystem. Each safe zone is a somewhat triangular area in front of or inback of the tire. Each safe zone defines the space in which a vehiclerestraint system can operate without the potential for contacting thefenders, trim, moldings or bumpers of the vehicle. For example, safezones 41 a and 41 b for a tire 40 of an automobile are generallyillustrated in FIG. 3B. The above described vehicle restraint systemfunctions outside of those safe zones for many vehicles, as generallyillustrated in FIG. 2A which shows (in phantom) that when the angledface-plate 34 is in the preferred uppermost position, it is outside thesafe zone 41 a. Therefore, as mentioned above, the angled face-plate ofthe restraint 32 often needs to be placed in the lowest or intermediateposition to stay within the respective safe zone and prevent damage orpotential damage to the fender, trim, molding and bumper of the vehicle.

Another problem with this restraint is that for certain vehicles, themanufacturers can not install the air dams on the vehicles at thefactory because the restraint would or could damage the air dams. Thus,for such vehicles, the manufacturer must ship the air dams to thedealerships for installation.

A related problem which can also cause a vehicle to be more likely tojump over or hop this restraint is that the restraint is sometimes notplaced as close to the tire as potentially possible as illustrated inFIG. 2. One reason for this is that the loaders are in a hurry when theyload the vehicles into the auto-rack railroad cars. When the loaders arein a hurry, they tend to place the restraint in a position close to thetire without substantially maneuvering the restraint to the closestpossible position to the tire. This positioning can sometimes leave asubstantial gap between the restraint and the tire. This gap coupledwith a low face-plate position can allow the vehicle to build up speedcausing the vehicle to hop or jump the restraint.

A similar problem arises because the restraint may need to be positionedor spaced at a distance from the tire because the tire is at a positionon the grating or relative to the grating that does not allow therestraint to be placed in engagement with the tire. The restraint incertain instances is placed up to a distance of three-quarters of aninch away from the tire due to the position of the grating members orrungs relative to the tire and the three sets of locking members of thisrestraint. Again, in such situations, a gap is created allowing thevehicle to more easily hop or jump the restraint. This is alsoillustrated in FIG. 2 where the size of the gap between the tire and theface-plate is approximately half the distance between the rungs of thegrating. This gap problem is compounded because certain vehiclemanufacturers require that certain vehicles be transported with thetransmission in neutral to prevent damage to the vehicle (such as damageto the transmission of the vehicle). In neutral, the transmission doesnot stop the vehicles from moving.

It should also be appreciated that the vehicles may jump or hop theserestraints at a variety of different times such as during movement ofthe train including sudden stoppage of the auto-rack car or severedeceleration of the auto-rack car. Such instances can include suddenstopping for emergencies alone or in combination with slack action. Theamount of force on the vehicles being transported relative to theauto-rack car can cause the vehicles to hop or jump over the restraint,especially if the tire is engaged by the face-plate at a relatively lowpoint, if the restraint is spaced from the tire or if the face-plate isat a low position and spaced from the tire.

More importantly, during switching in a railroad yard, the auto-rackcars are coupled and decoupled with other railroad cars in differentfreight trains on a regular basis. During the coupling action, severejolts of up to 8 to 10 miles per hour can be incurred by the auto-rackcar even though regulations (and signs in the railroad yards and on therailroad cars) limit the speed to no more than 4 miles per hour. Thesejolts can cause extreme force on the vehicles relative to the railroadcars and, thus, cause the vehicles to jump or hop these restraintsespecially if the tire is engaged by the angled face-plate at arelatively low point and/or if the restraint is spaced from the tire.When a vehicle hops or jumps a restraint, the vehicle may engage anothervehicle in the auto-rack car or one or more end doors of the auto-rackcar. There have been significant recorded instances of this type ofdamage to vehicles in auto-rack cars in railroad yards in recent years.As indicated above, such damage to the vehicles necessitates thereplacement of the damaged part or parts and potentially other parts ofthe vehicle. This damage is extremely expensive for vehiclemanufacturers which charge the railroads for such damage.

This problem is compounded for vehicle manufacturers when the vehicledamaged is a specially ordered vehicle (instead of a stock vehicle) fora specific customer. The customer can wait one, two, three or moremonths for a specially ordered vehicle. If the specially ordered vehicleis damaged in transit, the customer may need to wait for anotherspecially ordered vehicle to be manufactured. This can harm the dealer'sand manufacturer's businesses. The restraints are also often damagedwhen the vehicles jump the restraint or run into the restraints withsufficient forces. The railroads have to replace these damagedrestraints or have these damaged restraints reconstructed. This causesadditional expenses to be incurred by the railroads.

It should thus be recognized that while the vehicle restraint systemdescribed above, which has been widely commercially implemented, securesmany vehicles being transported in auto-rack cars, in many instancesthis vehicle restraint system does not adequately protect the vehiclesor prevent the movement of the vehicles and thus prevent damage to thevehicles or the restraints themselves. The automobile industry and therailroad industry have sought improvements of this vehicle restraintsystem.

Various improvements have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos.6,926,480, 7,004,696, 7,128,508, and 7,150,592 disclose supplementalrestraints which are configured to work with these restraints. Inanother example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,835,034 discloses a second restraintconfigured to work in conjunction with the above described restraints.One concern with such additional devices is that the loaders of thevehicles on the auto-rack cars need to position (when loading) andremove (when unloading) both the restraints and these additionaldevices. This takes additional time and effort during the loading andunloading process. Additionally, these multiple devices add more costand complications. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,523 disclosesan alternatively configured restraint. This restraint has not beencommercialized.

Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an improved vehicle wheelrestraint which is easy to install and remove, is attachable to thegrating existing in the auto-rack cars, and which holds the vehiclesmore securely.

SUMMARY

The present invention solves the above problems by providing a vehiclewheel chock for an auto-rack car which more fully secures a vehiclebeing transported in an auto-rack car and reduces or eliminates themovement of the vehicles being transported in the auto-rack car. Thepresent disclosure contemplates that for most vehicles, one vehiclewheel chock will be positioned adjacent to each tire of the vehiclebeing transported (i.e., four chocks in total to secure the vehicle).However, it should be appreciated that for certain vehicles, only twochocks (on opposing tires on opposite sides of the vehicle) may beemployed. After a vehicle is loaded in an auto-rack car on the gratings,each chock is positioned directly adjacent to each respective tire ofthe vehicle and is attached to the grating under the tire. It should beappreciated that the vehicle wheel chock of the present invention can beemployed in other transportation vehicles such as tractor trailers andshipping containers.

The vehicle wheel chock or chock of various embodiments of the presentinvention generally includes a body having a front portion, a centralportion and a rear portion, a tire engaging assembly at the frontportion of the body for engaging the tire of the vehicle, and a lockingassembly including a locking member pivotally connected to the centralportion of the body and lockable at the rear portion of the body tosecure the chock to the grating. In other embodiments, the vehicle wheelchock or chock generally includes a body having a front portion, acentral portion and a rear portion, a tire engaging assembly at thefront portion of the body for engaging the tire of the vehicle, and alocking assembly including a locking member pivotally connected to therear portion of the body and lockable at the central portion of the bodyto secure the chock to the grating. The chock also includes front grateengagers or teeth connected to and extending downwardly and forwardlyfrom the front portion of the body and rear grate engagers or teethextending downwardly from the locking member. These grate engagers orteeth are configured to co-act to securely attach the chock to thegrating.

The tire engaging assembly has multiple configurations for functioningwith different size vehicles and different height, shape and size tires,fenders, moldings, trim and bumpers. More specifically, the tireengaging assembly includes the front portion of the body, an inner tireengager pivotally connected to the body and an outer tire engagerpivotally connected to the body. Each tire engager is movable from adown or retracted position to an up or extended position. In a firstconfiguration, the inner tire engager and the outer tire engager areboth in down or retracted positions and the rear sides of both the innertire engager and the outer tire engager are configured for engagementwith the treaded surface of the tire. In a second configuration, theinner tire engager is in an up or extended position, the outer tireengager is in a down or retracted position, the front side of the innertire engager is configured for engagement with the treaded surface ofthe tire, and the rear side of the outer tire engager is configured forengagement with the treaded surface of the tire. In a thirdconfiguration, the inner tire engager and the outer tire engager areboth in the up or extended positions and the front sides of both theinner tire engager and the outer tire engager are configured forengagement with the treaded surface of the tire.

The inner and outer tire engagers each have a relatively narrow width orprofile and when in the same positions extend in substantially the sameplane. Thus, each configuration enables the tire engaging assembly toextend between the tire and the adjacent fender, molding, trim or bumperof a different vehicle and engage a significant portion of the tirewhile not touching the fender, molding, trim or bumper. This chockenables a loader to position the chock closer to the tire and at ahigher position along the tire. The chock is thus configured to be usedwith small, medium and large and/or heavy vehicle wheels andsubstantially reduces the problem of the vehicle wheels jumping over thechocks and/or breaking the chocks. This significantly reduces thefinancial loss due to damaged vehicles and damaged chocks. Thissubstantially reduces the time and cost of reconstructing or replacingbroken chocks.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an auto-rack railroad car configured totransport a plurality of vehicles.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a fragmentary vehicle and a prior art restraintin an auto-rack car illustrating a grating on which the vehicle rests,the restraint releasably attached to the grating, the face-plate of therestraint in its lowest position, and the face-plate of the restraintshown in phantom in the highest position which would interfere with thefender of the vehicle.

FIG. 2A is a fragmentary side view of a vehicle and a prior artrestraint in an auto-rack car illustrating the restraint in its lowestposition, and the face-plate of the restraint shown in phantom in thehighest position and outside of a safe zone for the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a vehicle which has jumped the prior artrestraint illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3A is a perspective fragmentary view of a vehicle that hasliterally walked out of the prior art restraint illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3B is a fragmentary side view of a vehicle showing the safe zonesaround one of the tires of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a top front perspective view of the chock of one embodiment ofthe present invention, and illustrating the inner tire engager in aretracted position, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, andthe locking member in a locked position.

FIG. 4A is a top front perspective view of the chock of one embodimentof the present invention, and illustrating the inner tire engager in aretracted position, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, andthe locking member in a locked position on the grating.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in alocked position.

FIG. 5A is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in alocked position on the grating.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the outer tire engager in a retracted position and thelocking member in a locked position.

FIG. 7 is a top front perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position,the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking memberin an unlocked position.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, the outertire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 10 is a top front perspective view of the chock of the embodimentof FIG. 4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 10A is a top front perspective view of the chock of the embodimentof FIG. 4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in a locked position engaging the grating.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in a retracted position and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 13 is a front perspective of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4,and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, theouter tire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in alocked position engaging the grating.

FIG. 14 is top rear perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 4, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position,the outer tire engager in an extended position, and the locking memberin a locked position engaging the grating.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in a lockedposition engaging the grating.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, the inter-connection between theinner and outer tire engagers, and the locking member in locked positionengaging the grating.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the chock of theembodiment of FIG. 4, and illustrating the inter-connection between theinner and outer tire engagers.

FIG. 18 is a further enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the innerand outer tire engagers of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 4, andillustrating the inter-connection between the inner and outer tireengagers.

FIG. 19 is a top front perspective view of the chock of anotherembodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the inner tireengager in a retracted position, the outer tire engager in a retractedposition, and the locking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 20 is a top view of the chock of FIG. 19, and illustrating theinner tire engager in an extended position, the outer tire engager in anextended position, and the locking member in a locked position.

FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the chock of FIG. 19, and illustrating thelocking member in a locked position.

FIGS. 22 and 23 are enlarged fragmentary perspective views of thealternative locking assembly of the chock of FIG. 19.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the alternativetire engaging assembly of the chock of FIG. 19.

FIGS. 25 and 26 are enlarged fragmentary side views of the alternativetire engaging assembly of the chock of FIG. 19.

FIG. 27 is a top front perspective view of the chock of an alternativeembodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the inner tireengager in a retracted position, the outer tire engager in a retractedposition, and the locking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 28 is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in anun-locked position.

FIG. 29 is a side elevation view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG.27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in a retracted position, theouter tire engager in a retracted position, and the locking member in alocked position.

FIG. 30 is a top front perspective view of the chock of the embodimentof FIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 31 is a top front perspective view of the chock of the embodimentof FIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in a locked position.

FIG. 32 is a top rear perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 33 is a top rear perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in a retracted position, and thelocking member in a locked position.

FIG. 34 is a top rear perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in an extended position, and thelocking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 35 is a top rear perspective view of the chock of the embodiment ofFIG. 27, and illustrating the inner tire engager in an extendedposition, the outer tire engager in an extended position, and thelocking member in a locked position.

FIG. 36 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 37 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in a lockedposition.

FIG. 38 is a bottom view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the locking member in an unlocked position.

FIG. 39 is a bottom view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the locking member in a locked position.

FIG. 40 is a front view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position and theouter tire engager in an extended position.

FIG. 41 is a rear view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in anunlocked position.

FIG. 42 is a rear view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, and the locking member in a lockedposition.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27positioned in a vertically extending storage pan mounted (as it wouldextend on the wall of an auto-rack car), and illustrating one of thestorage clasps of the storage assembly of the chock engaging a storagebar in the storage pan.

FIG. 44 is a side view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27positioned in a horizontally extending storage pan (prior to mounting ona wall of auto-rack railroad car), and illustrating one of the storageclasps of the storage assembly engaging a storage bar in the storagepan.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of one of the storageclasps of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 27, positioned in astorage pan, and engaging a storage bar in the storage pan.

FIG. 46 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the storage clasp of thechock of the embodiment of FIG. 27 positioned on a grating, andillustrating that the storage clasp does not engage any of the gratingmembers and does not hold the chock in place on the grating.

FIG. 47 is a top front perspective view of the chock of an alternativeembodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the inner tireengager in an extended position, the outer tire engager in an extendedposition, and the locking member in a unlocked position.

FIG. 47A is a fragmentary side view of a vehicle having a chock of thepresent disclosure adjacent to the tire and operating in the safe zone.

FIG. 48 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, the locking member in a lockedposition, and the handle of the locking assembly in a resting position.

FIG. 49 is a top view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47, andillustrating the inner tire engager in an extended position, the outertire engager in an extended position, the locking pin in an unlockedposition and the handle of the locking assembly in an actuated position.

FIG. 50 is a bottom view of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47,wherein the outer tire engager is in an extended position and theillustratory locking member in a locked position.

FIG. 51 is an exploded perspective view of the chock of the embodimentof FIG. 47.

FIG. 51A is an exploded perspective view of the locking assembly of thechock of the embodiment of FIG. 47, and showing the front boss brokenaway to illustrate the pivot pin opening in the locking member.

FIG. 52 is an enlarged top front perspective view of the body of thechock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 52A is an enlarged top rear perspective view of the body of thechock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 53 is an enlarged front perspective view of the inner tire engagerof the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 54 is an enlarged front perspective view of the outer tire engagerof the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 55 is an enlarged front perspective view of the locking assembly ofthe chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 56 is an enlarged top view of the locking member of the chock ofthe embodiment of FIG. 47, and illustrating the locking pin in thelocked position and the handle in the resting position.

FIG. 56A is an enlarged perspective view of the handle of the lockingassembly of the chock of the embodiment of FIG. 47.

FIG. 57 is an enlarged top view of the locking member of the chock ofthe embodiment of FIG. 47, and illustrating the locking pin in theunlocked position and the handle in the actuated position.

FIG. 58 is an enlarged perspective view of a bracket for holding a chockin a storage pan attached to a side wall of an auto-rack railroad car.

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a chock held in a storage pan attachedto a side wall of an auto-rack railroad car by the bracket of FIG. 58.

FIG. 60 is a side view of a chock held in a storage pan attached to aside wall of an auto-rack railroad car by the bracket of FIG. 58.

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a pivotconnection bracket for the chock.

FIG. 62 is a side view of the alternative embodiment of the pivotconnection bracket of FIG. 61.

FIG. 63 is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thehandle of the locking assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, a typicalauto-rack car 10 includes a frame 12 supported by trucks 14, each ofwhich have several wheels 16 which roll along railroad tracks 18. Theframe 12 supports two sidewalls 20 and a roof 22. The auto-rack car 10includes a pair of co-acting clamshell doors 24 and 26 mounted on eachend of the auto-rack car 10. The doors 24 and 26 are opened tofacilitate the loading and unloading of vehicles into and out of theauto-rack car 10 and are closed during transport or storage of thevehicles.

The sidewalls 20 include a series of steel vertical posts 28 which aremounted on, and extend upwardly from, the frame 12. The roof 22 ismounted on, and supported by, these vertical posts. The vertical postsare evenly spaced along the entire length of both sidewalls 20 of theauto-rack car 10. A plurality of rectangular galvanized steel side wallpanels 30 which extend horizontally and are vertically spaced apart aremounted between each pair of vertical posts 28. These side wall panelsare supported at their corners by brackets (not shown) that are suitablysecured to the vertical posts. The average side wall panel has amultiplicity of round sidewall panel holes 23. These side wall panelholes 23 provide the auto-rack car with natural light as well as properventilation. Proper ventilation prevents harm from the toxic vehiclefumes to the person or persons (i.e., loaders) loading or unloading thevehicles into or out of the auto-rack car.

The auto-rack car may be a tri-level car having first, second and thirdlevels. Normally, eighteen passenger vehicles can be transported in atri-level auto-rack car, six on each level. The auto-rack car can alsohave two levels for vehicles instead of three. The bi-level auto-rackcar has a lower level and an upper level. The bi-level auto-rack car isgenerally used to transport larger vehicles, such as vans, mini-vans,pickup trucks, four-by-four and cross-over vehicles. The bi-levelauto-rack car can usually transport twelve of these vehicles, six oneach level. The auto-rack car may also be a single-level car.

FIGS. 4 to 18 illustrate a first embodiment of the vehicle wheel chockof the present invention which is generally indicated by numeral 50.Each of the embodiments of the vehicle wheel chocks disclosed herein aregenerally referred to herein as the chock. The chock 50 is configured tobe attachable to a grating or wire grid such as wire grid 46 (see FIGS.4A, 5A, 10A, 13, 14, 15, and 16) which has parallel spaced-apart steelwires 47 crossing and welded to parallel spaced-apart steel wires 48.This grating or wire grid is described in more detail in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,312,213 and 5,302,063. The chock 50 is configured to be positionedadjacent to a tire of a wheel of a vehicle (not shown). The chock 50 maybe attached at any suitable location on the grating or wire grid,depending on the location of the vehicle wheel.

The illustrated embodiment of the chock 50 includes: (a) a body 52having a front portion 54, a central portion 56, and a rear portion 58;(b) a plurality of grate engagers or teeth 60 extending downwardly andforwardly from the front portion 54 for engaging the grating or wiregrid 46; (c) a tire engaging assembly at the front portion 54 forsecurely engaging the tire of the vehicle; (d) a locking assembly 64having a locking member 66 pivotally connected to the central portion 56of the body 52 and lockable at the rear portion 58 of the body 52 forsecurely attaching the chock 50 to the grating or wire grid 46; and (e)a plurality of grate engagers or teeth 68 extending downwardly from thelocking member 66 for engaging the grating or wire grid 46 when thelocking member 66 is in the locked position. Generally, the tireengaging assembly at the front portion 54 of the body 52 includespivotable interacting and interlocking inner and outer tire engagers 70and 76, respectively, configurable in multiple different positions torespectively engage different size tires (not shown) of multipledifferent vehicles (not shown) without engaging the different fenders,moldings, trim or bumpers (not shown) of those vehicles as discussed infurther detail below. In this illustrated embodiment, the locking member66 of the locking assembly 64 is pivotally connected to the centralportion 56 of the body 52 and is moveable between: (a) an unlocked orreleased position (shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12) whichfacilitates attachment and detachment of the chock 50 from the gratingor wire grid 46; and (b) a locked position (shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, 10Aand 13 to 16) wherein the chock 50 is secured to the grating or wiregrid 46. When the locking member 66 is in the locked position, theplurality of grate engagers or teeth 60 extending downwardly andforwardly from the front portion 54 of the body 52 prevent the upwardand forward movement of the chock 50 relative to the grating or wiregrid 46, and the plurality of grate engagers or teeth 68 extendingdownwardly from the locking member 66 prevent the rearward movement ofthe chock 50 relative to the grating or wire grid 46.

More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the front portion 54,the central portion 56, and rear portion 58 of the body 52 areintegrally formed. In one embodiment, the body 52 is molded of a liquidthermoset plastics material primarily composed of a plural componentliquid monomer mixture which can be molded by a reaction injectionmolding (RIM) process. An example of such a product is produced byMelton America Corporation and sold under the trademark METTON. The bodycan alternatively be made from other suitable materials such as nylon, aglass filled nylon, a Dicyclopentadiene, anAcrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or a polycarbonate. It should further beappreciated that the body could be made from any one or more suitablematerials, including other metals, plastics, ceramics and compositematerials or combinations thereof. It should also be appreciated thatthe body illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 16, is in one configuration, but thatthe body may be alternatively configured in accordance with the presentinvention.

In the illustrated embodiment, part of the front portion 54 of the body52 functions as part of the tire engaging assembly and is configured tomate with and co-act with the inner and outer tire engagers 70 and 76 asdescribed below. In various embodiments, the front side of inner tireengager 70 and the front side of the outer tire engager 76 are eachconfigured to mate with and co-act with the top and forward side of thefront portion 54 of the body 52 when the inner and outer tire engagers70 and 76 are in the retracted positions such that the back side ofinner tire engager 70 and the back side of outer tire engager arepositioned to engage the tire as best illustrated in FIGS. 4, 4A, 5, 5A,7, 8, and 9. The top side of the front portion 54 of the body 52 and thefront side of inner tire engager 70 are also configured co-act when theinner tire engager 70 is in the extended position such that the frontside of inner tire engager 70, the top side of the body 52, and the backside of outer tire engager are positioned to engage the tire asillustrated in FIGS. 10, 10A, 11 and 12. The top side of the frontportion 54 of the body 52, the front side of inner tire engager 70, andthe front side of the outer tire engager 76 are also configured co-actwhen the inner tire engager 70 and the outer tire engager 76 are both inthe extended position such that the front side of inner tire engager 70,the front side of the outer tire engager 76, and the top side of thebody 52 are positioned to engage the tire as illustrated in FIGS. 13,14, 15, 16, and 17.

In the illustrated embodiment, the inner tire engager 70 includes a body80 and two spaced apart arms 82 and 84 connected to and extending fromthe body 80 (see FIGS. 4, 4A, 7, and 9). The arms 82 and 84 have handsor pivot ends 86 and 88. The outer tire engager 76 includes a body 90and two spaced apart arms 92 and 94 connected to and extending from thebody 90 (see FIGS. 4, 4A, 7, and 9). The arms 92 and 94 have hands orpivot ends 96 and 98. The arms 92 and 94 and the body 90 of the outertire engager 76 define a central open area sized and shaped to receivethe inner tire engager 70 as best seen in FIGS. 10, 10A, and 12. Inother words, when the inner tire engager 70 and the other tire engager76 are both in either the retracted position or the extended position,they co-act to form a wall for engaging the tire. In one embodiment, theinner and outer tire engagers are both molded from a liquid thermosetplastics material primarily composed of a plural component liquidmonomer mixture which can be molded by a reaction injection molding(RIM) process. An example of such a product is produced by MellonAmerica Corporation and sold under the trademark METTON. The tireengagers can alternatively be made from a nylon, a glass filled nylon, aDicyclopentadiene, an Acrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or apolycarbonate. It should further be appreciated that the tire engagerscould be made from any one or more suitable materials, including othermetals, plastics, ceramics and composite materials or combinationsthereof. It should also be appreciated that the shape and size of theinner and outer tire engagers may vary in accordance with the presentinvention.

The tire engagers 70 and 76 co-act with the front portion 54 of the body52 to form the tire engaging assembly. More specifically, as best seenin FIGS. 4, 4A, 7, 9, 10A, and 13, the front portion 54 of the body 52includes: (a) upwardly extending tire engager supports 102, 104, and 106which are configured to pivotally support the inner and outer tireengagers 70 and 76; (b) semi-cylindrical pivot areas 101 and 107 (seeFIG. 4A) extending respectively inwardly from the outer sides of thebody 52 to the tire engager support 102 and 106 and configured toreceive pivot ends 96 and 98 (see FIG. 4A) of the outer tire engager 70;(c) semi-cylindrical pivot areas 103 and 105 (see FIG. 4A) extendingrespectively between tire engager supports 102, 104, and 106 andconfigured to receive the pivot ends 86 and 88 (see FIGS. 4A and 13) ofthe inner tire engager 70; (d) laterally spaced apart upwardly extendingreinforcing ribs or supports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 (seeFIG. 13) which are configured to support the inner and outer tireengagers 70 and 76 when they are in the retracted positions; and (e)laterally spaced-apart tire engager receipt areas or recesses 113, 115,117, 119, 121, and 123 (see FIG. 13) configured to receive the inner andouter tire engagers 70 and 76 when they are in the retracted positions.

As also seen in FIG. 13, the front side of the inner tire engager 70includes laterally spaced apart outwardly extending reinforcing ribs orsupports 132, 134, 136, and 138 configured to be received in thespaced-apart tire engager receipt areas or recesses 115, 117, 119, and121 when the inner tire engager 70 is in the retracted position as shownin FIGS. 4, 4A, 5, 5A, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The inner tire engager 70 alsoincludes laterally spaced-apart body receipt areas or recesses 131, 133,135, 137, and 139 configured to the receive laterally spaced-apartupwardly extending reinforcing ribs or supports 114, 116, 118, 120, and122 of the body 52 when the inner tire engager 70 is in the retractedposition.

As further seen in FIG. 13, the front side of the outer tire engager 76includes laterally spaced-apart downwardly extending reinforcing ribs orsupports 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, and 152 configured to be received inthe spaced-apart tire engager receipt areas or recesses 113, 115, 117,119, 121, and 123 when the outer tire engager 76 is in the retractedposition. The outer tire engager 76 includes laterally spaced-apart bodyreceipt areas or recesses 141, 143, 145, 147, 149, 151, and 153configured to receive laterally spaced-apart upwardly extendingreinforcing ribs or supports 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 ofthe body 52 when the outer tire engager 76 is in the retracted position.

In the illustrated embodiment, the outer tire engager 76 also includes alip 99 for providing additional structural support of the outer tireengager 76. When the outer tire engager 76 is in the retracted position,the lip 99 extends downwardly and toward the body 52. When the outertire engager 76 is in the extended position, the lip 99 extendsoutwardly toward the tire.

The inner tire engager 70 and the outer tire engager 76 are eachpivotally attached to the body 52 by a suitable first pivot member suchas a first bolt and nut assembly (not shown in relation to theembodiment). Specifically, the pivot member extends through pivot ends96 and 98 of the outer tire engager 76, pivot ends 86 and 88 of theinner tire engager, tire engager supports 102, 104, and 106 of the body52 to enable the inner and outer tire engagers 70 and 76 toindependently pivot relative to the body 52, and pivot connection barsor brackets 250 and 252. In the illustrated embodiment, pivot connectionbars or brackets 250 and 252 are employed to provide additionalstructural integrity. Pivot connection bar or bracket 250 also functionsas a handle to enable a loader to easily carry and manipulate the chock50. These pivot connection bars or brackets 250 and 252 are alsoconfigured to facilitate the replacement of the inner and outer tireengagers 70 and 76 in the event such tire engagers break. It should beappreciated that such inner and outer tire engagers are configured incertain embodiments to break upon a designed amount of pressure placedon such tire engagers by a tire as further explained below.

In various embodiments, the inner and outer tire engagers 70 and 76 arecoupled, interconnected or interlocking. In one such embodiment which isgenerally illustrated in FIGS. 10, 11, 12, and 13, and best illustratedin FIGS. 16, 17, and 18, the reinforcing ribs or supports 132, 134, 136,and 138 of the inner tire engager 70 respectively include indentations,slots or steps 162, 164, 166, and 168 configured to respectively receiveconnecting protrusions, pins or steps 172, 174, 176, and 178 extendingfrom the reinforcing ribs or supports 144, 146, 148, and 150 of theouter tire engager 76. This configuration enables the inner and outertire engagers 70 and 76 to co-act such that when the inner and outertire engagers 70 and 76 are in the retracted position and the outer tireengager 76 is moved from the retracted position to the extendedposition, the outer tire engager 76 causes the inner tire engager 70 toalso move from the retracted position to the extended position. Thisenables a loader to easily move both the inner and outer tire engagers70 and 76 to their respective extended positions. If the loader desiresto just move the inner tire engager 70 to its extended position (and tohave the outer tire engager 76 in the retracted position), after thisrotation of both tire engagers, the outer tire engager 76 can bedisengaged or decoupled from the inner tire engager 70 and rotated backto its retracted position, leaving the inner tire engager 70 in itsextended position as illustrated in FIGS. 10, 10A, 11, and 12. Thisconstruction also facilitates a continuous surface for engagement withthe tire when the tire engagers are in either the extended or retractedpositions. It should be appreciated that the size and shape of the steps162, 164, 166, and 168 and the steps 172, 174, 176, and 178 can bevaried in accordance with the present disclosure. It should also beappreciated that this configuration provides part of the interacting orinterlocking function of the inner and outer tire engagers. These stepsand the interaction between these steps are further illustrated in FIGS.17 and 18.

It should thus be appreciated that various embodiments of the tireengaging assembly has three configurations. Each configuration of thetire-engaging assembly is formed in a suitable manner for engagementwith the treaded surface of the vehicle tire which keeps the profileclose to the tire and away from the fenders, body panels and trim of thevehicle.

In one alternative embodiment which is not illustrated, one or more ofthe front and back sides of the inner tire engager, the front and backsides of the outer tire engager, and the top side of the front portionof the body include one or both of longitudinally extending ridges andnotches (not shown). These longitudinally extending ridges and notchesprovide for better engagement with or gripping the tire. In oneembodiment, corresponding longitudinally extending ridges and notchesare configured in the front sides of the tire engagers and the frontportion of the body such that the ridges and notches mate when the tireengagers are in the retracted positions.

In one embodiment, the chock 50 includes a paddle 180 attached to thecentral portion 56 of the body 52 to prevent lateral movement of thetire. In the illustrated embodiment, the paddle 180 is attached to thebody 52 by the first pivot member such as a bolt and nut assembly (notshown in FIGS. 4 to 45) and by a second pivot member such as a bolt andnut assembly (not shown in FIGS. 4 to 45), but shown in relation to theembodiments of FIGS. 47 to 57 as discussed below. The paddle 180includes a forward tire engaging portion 182 configured to engage theside of the tire and a rear stabilizing portion 184 integrally connectedto the connection bar or bracket 252 for stability. When the tire exertspressure on the forward tire engaging portion 182 of the paddle 180, theconnection bar 252 coacts with the body 52 and serves to stabilize thepaddle 180. It should be appreciated that the paddle 180 does not movewith the tire engagers and is configured to engage the side of the tireat a relatively low position regardless of the position of the tireengagers.

The central section 56 of the body 52 also serves to support the innerand outer tire engagers 70 and 76 when each of them are in the extendedposition. More specifically, when the inner tire engager 70 is in theextended position, it rests against the support section 190 of thecentral portion 56 of the body 52. Likewise, when the outer tire engager76 is in the extended position, it rests against the support section 190of the central portion 56.

It should be appreciated that the chock and specifically one or both ofthe tire engagers of the tire engaging assembly are constructed to breakwhen too much force is applied respectively against the inner and/orouter tire engagers. This construction prevents damage to the suspensionof the vehicle which is difficult to detect. More specifically, insevere impact situations, if the chock (or a portion of the chock) doesnot break upon impact by the tire, the impact can be absorbed by one ormore of the components of the suspension system of the vehicle, whichcan cause damage to those components. Such damage cannot be easilydetected from outside manual inspection of the vehicle. In such cases,where the detection does not occur, the vehicle can be sold in a damagedstate and can lead to later problems with the purchasers. Thus, insevere impact situations, vehicle manufacturers desire the chock to giveor break, which may cause damage to the exterior components of thevehicle (i.e., bumpers, fenders, etc.). In such situations, such damagecan be readily detected and the vehicles can be fixed prior to sale ofthe vehicle. Additionally, when an unloader sees damaged chocks, theunloader will know that the vehicle must be carefully inspected fordamage. If there is any damage, the costs for the related repairs of thevehicles can be borne by the appropriate party according to thetransportation agreements. The construction disclosed herein of thechock also facilitates easy and cost efficient reconstruction of suchbroken chocks.

Turning now to the locking assembly 64, the central portion 56 and therear portion 58 of the body 52 are configured support the lockingassembly 64. More specifically, the rear portion 58 of the body 52includes spaced-apart side walls 202 and 204 and a rear wall or base 206interconnecting and extending between the side walls or bases 202 and204. The side walls or bases 202 and 204 are connected to the centralportion 56 of the body 52 and extend rearwardly from the centralportion. The central portion 56 and the side walls 202 and 204 and rearwall or base 206 of the rear portion 58 of the body 52 define a lockingmember receiving area 210 (see FIGS. 6, 9, and 12) in which the lockingmember 66 of the locking assembly 64 is movably positioned.

The locking member 66 is generally rectangular and sized and configuredto be positioned in the locking member receiving area 210. In oneembodiment, the locking member is molded of a liquid thermoset plasticsmaterial primarily composed of a plural component liquid monomer mixturewhich can be molded by a reaction injection molding (RIM) process. Anexample of such a product is produced by Mellon America Corporation andsold under the trademark METTON. The locking member can alternatively bemade from a nylon, a glass filled nylon, a Dicyclopentadiene, anAcrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or a polycarbonate. It should further beappreciated that the locking member could be made from any one or moresuitable materials, including other metals, plastics, ceramics andcomposite materials or combinations thereof. It should also beappreciated that the locking member illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 16, showone configuration of the locking member, but that the locking member maybe alternatively configured in accordance with the present invention.

More specifically, the locking member 66 is pivotally connected to thecentral portion 56 of the body 52 by a second pivot member (not shown)such as a second bolt and nut assembly. The central portion 56 of thebody 52 includes two recess areas 56 a and 56 b (see FIG. 6) configuredto facilitate pivotal attachment of the locking member 66 to the body52. These recess areas 56 a and 56 b are configured to receive pivotconnection members or brackets 250 and 252, respectively. The secondpivot member extends through the body 52, the front end of the lockingmember 66, and the connection bars or brackets 250 and 252 respectivelydisposed in recess areas 56 a and 56 b. It should be appreciated that ifpart of the tire engaging assembly or locking assembly breaks, the chockcan be reconstructed by replacing the broken components in the fieldsuch as by unfastening the two pivot members (such as the bolts andnuts), replacing the broken components and refastening the pivotmembers.

The locking member 66 includes front and rear upwardly projecting bosses212 and 214 configured to receive and support a locking pin 220 foraxial movement. The locking pin 220 is positioned in the bosses 212 and214 and a compression spring 222 is journaled about the locking pin 220between the bosses 212 and 214. The compression spring 222 biases thelocking pin 220 rearwardly to its normal or resting position. The freeend 221 of the locking pin 220 extends rearwardly from boss 212 and isconfigured to be received in a locking notch 224 in locking bar 226.Locking bar 226 extends upwardly from the rear wall or base 206 of therear portion 58 of the body 52. The locking bar 226 includes a slopedfront biasing wall 228 as best seen in FIGS. 8 and 11. When the lockingmember 66 is pivoted downwardly from the unlocked position, toward thelocked position, the free end 221 of the locking pin 220 engages thesloped front wall 228 of the locking bar 226 which causes the lockingpin 220 to be biased against the compression spring 222 journaled aboutthe locking pin 220. When the free end 221 of the locking pin 220reaches the locking notch 224, the compression spring 222 causes thelocking pin 220 to move into the locking notch 224 and thus secure thelocking member 66 in the locked position.

The locking assembly 64 also includes a handle 230 secured to thelocking pin 220 for moving the locking pin 220 axially against thecompression spring 220 to facilitate the unlocking of the locking member66. In this illustrated embodiment, the handle 230 includes a footpeddle 232 attached by an arm 234 which is attached to the locking pin220. The foot peddle 232 is sized and configured to enable a loader tolock and unlock the locking member 66 of the locking assembly 64. In analternative embodiment, the handle has two foot peddles (not shown)extending from opposite sides of the locking member.

In operation, to disengage the locking pin 220 from the locking notch224, the loader applies a force against the rear side of the foot peddle232 which causes a transverse force against the compression spring 222,and then moves or rotates the locking member 66 upwardly to the unlockedposition. To engage the locking pin 220 into the locking notch 224, theloader applies a force against the top front side of the foot peddle 232which causes the locking member 66 to move downwardly such that thelocking pin 220 engages the locking bar 226 until it reaches the lockingnotch 224.

As discussed above, the chock 50 includes a plurality of downwardlyprojecting grate engagers or teeth 60 which extend downwardly from thefront section 54 of the body 52 and are arranged in four grate engagersor parallel spaced rows each having four teeth. Each grate engager ortooth 60 has a curved or rounded surface which faces downwardly andforwardly. The curved surfaces permit pivoting of the body 52 between anupper inclined released position and a downward horizontal lockedposition where the grate engagers or teeth project between the parallelspaced wires and engage the wires of the grating or wire grid. The grateengagers or teeth 60 are formed in body 52 during the molding process.The grate engagers or teeth 60 are arranged in a plurality of laterallyspaced apart rows with each row having a plurality of teeth (e.g., fourin the illustrated embodiment). In one embodiment, the grate engagers orteeth 60 are made from a suitable metal. It should be appreciated thatthe grate engagers or teeth can be made from any suitably strongmaterial. It should also be appreciated that the number of grateengagers can vary.

The locking member 66 of the chock 50 also has a plurality of downwardlyprojecting grate engagers or teeth 68 having rounded front cornersurfaces for entering and engaging the grating or wire grid. The grateengagers or teeth 68 are arranged in a plurality of laterallyspaced-apart rows with each row having a plurality of teeth (e.g., fourin the illustrated embodiment). In one embodiment, the grate engagers orteeth 68 are made from a suitable metal. It should be appreciated thatthe grate engagers or teeth can be made from any suitably strongmaterial.

The chock 50 is used by positioning the chock 50 on the grating or wiregrid 46 adjacent a tire and then hooking the grate engagers or teeth 60onto the cross wires while the locking member 66 is in the unlockedposition. When the locking member 66 is pivoted to its locked position,the teeth 68 on the locking member 66 enter into and engage the gratingor wire grid 46 to secure the chock 50 so that it cannot shiftrearwardly to release the grate engagers or teeth from the cross wires.

It should be appreciated that this illustrated embodiment of the chockof the present invention provides an advantage over the device describedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,523, such as by pivoting the locking member 66 atthe central portion 56 of the body 52 and locking at the rear portion ofthe body. This enables the loader to use his/her foot to lock and unlockthe chock. This configuration enables the loader to kick the kick platetoward the tire instead of toward the body panel which prevents damageor chipping of the body panel. More specifically, if the loader ismissing the foot peddle or kick plate with his/her foot, the loader willcontact the tire with their foot instead of a body panel of the vehicle.

In various alternative embodiments of the present invention such asthose described below, the locking member 66 is pivotally attached tothe rear portion 58 of the body 52 and pivots forward to be lockable atthe central portion 56 of the body 52. Various such alternativeembodiments are discussed below and illustrated in FIGS. 27 to 57.

An alternative embodiment illustrated of the chock is illustrated inFIGS. 19 to 26, where the chock is indicated by numeral 350. Thisalternative embodiment includes an alternative locking assembly, analternative tire engaging assembly, and an alternative method ofattaching the grate engagers or teeth to the body and locking member.

More specifically, FIGS. 19, 20, 22, and 23 illustrate an alternativelocking assembly of the chock. This alternative locking assemblyincludes a slip ring, clip or retainer 400 attached to and positionedaround the locking pin 220 between boss 214 and arm 234 for maintainingthe locking pin and limiting movement of the locking pin 220 to thedesired movement. It should be appreciated that other alternativeconfigurations or modifications of the locking assembly can be made inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 19, 24, 25, and 26 also illustrate an alternative tire engagingassembly. This alternative tire engaging assembly includes tire engagersecuring or locking tongues or members 410 and 416 respectively attachedto the pivot members 496 and 498 of the outer tire engager 476. Thisalternative tire engaging assembly also includes tire engager securingor locking tongues or members 412 and 414 respectively attached to thepivot members 486 and 488 of the inner tire engager 470. The tireengager securing or locking tongues or members 410, 412, 414, and 416are configured to be received in respective tire engaging securing orlocking slots 420, 422, 424 (see FIGS. 24, 25 and 26), and 428 (notshown) in the top side of the front portion 454 of the body 452, andparticularly in the bottom of the pivot recess areas. As furtherillustrated in FIG. 24, the pivot members 486, 488, 496 and 498respectively define oval pivot member adjustment slots 430 (not shown),432, 434, and 436 which enable each of the inner and outer tire engagersto be moved to a first extended position where their securing or lockingtongues members are not positioned in the respective securing or lockingslots as generally illustrated in FIG. 25, and then into a secondextended position where their securing members are positioned in therespective securing or locking slots as generally illustrated in FIG.26. The tire engager securing or locking tongues or members are receivedin the respective tire engaging securing or locking slots to preventundesired rotation or pivoting of the respective inner and outer tireengagers after they have been positioned in the extended positions by aloader. It should thus be appreciated that alternative configurations ofthe tire engaging assembly may be employed in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate an alternative method of attaching the grateengagers or teeth to the body and the locking member. More specifically,in the above described embodiments, the grate engagers or teeth 60 and68 are respectively molded into the body 452 and the locking member 466.In this alternative embodiment, the grate engagers or teeth 460 and 468are respectively attached to mounting plates 510, 512, 514, and 516which are secured by suitable fasteners 520, 522, 524, and 526 (such asbolts and nuts) to the body 452 and the locking member 466. It should beappreciated that the fasteners extend through openings formed in thebody 452 and the locking member 466. It should also be appreciated thatany suitable configuration for the mounting plates may be employed. Itshould further be appreciated that additional and/or alternativefasteners may be employed.

It should further be appreciated that the present invention includes amethod of securing a vehicle in an auto-rack railroad car whichincludes, for each tire of a vehicle, positioning the inner and outertire engagers of a chock in the appropriate retracted or extendedpositions for the tire, placing the chock adjacent to the tire on thegrating or wire grid, and locking the locking member.

It should be appreciated that, when not in use, the chocks can be storedin a suitable storage box such as the kind described in U.S. Pat. No.7,150,592.

It should also be appreciated that, when not in use, the chocks can bestored in a suitable vertically extending storage pan having a cross barand attached to the side wall of the auto-rack railroad car. Suchstorage pans are currently in auto-rack railroad cars for storage of theexisting chocks. One alternative embodiment of the present inventionshown in FIGS. 27 to 46 is specifically configured to be positioned insuch a storage pan and includes a plurality of storage clasps configuredto engage the cross bar as further discussed below. A furtheralternative embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 47 to 57is also specifically configured to be positioned in such a storage panwith the use of a storage pan bracket illustrated in FIGS. 58 to 60 asfurther discussed below.

More specifically and referring now to FIGS. 27 to 42, this embodimentof the vehicle wheel chock is generally indicated by numeral 650. Theillustrated embodiment of the chock 650 includes: (a) a body 652 havinga front portion 654, a central portion 656 and a rear portion 658; (b) aplurality of grate engagers or teeth 660 extending downwardly andforwardly from the front portion 654 for engaging the grating or wiregrid; and (c) a tire engaging assembly at the front portion 654 forsecurely engaging the tire of the vehicle. Similar to the aboveembodiments, the tire engaging assembly includes pivotable inner andouter tire engagers 670 and 676, respectively, configurable in multipledifferent positions to respectively engage different size tires (notshown) of multiple different vehicles (not shown) without engaging thedifferent fenders, moldings, trim or bumpers (not shown) of thosevehicles as discussed in further detail below. As with the aboveembodiments, the inner tire engager 670 and the outer tire engager 676are each pivotally attached to the body 652 by a suitable first pivotmember such as a first bolt and nut assembly (not shown).

This illustrated embodiment of the chock 650 also includes: (a) alocking assembly 664 having a locking member 666 pivotally connected tothe rear portion 658 of the body 652 and lockable at the central portion656 of the body 652 for securely attaching the chock 650 to the gratingor wire grid; and (b) a plurality of grate engagers or teeth 668extending downwardly from the locking member 666 for engaging thegrating or wire grid when the locking member 666 is in the lockedposition. The locking member 666 is moveable between: (a) an unlocked orreleased position (shown in FIGS. 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 41)which facilitates attachment and detachment of the chock 650 from thegrating or wire grid; and (b) a locked position (shown in FIGS. 29, 31,33, 35, 37, 39, and 42) wherein the chock 650 is secured to the gratingor wire grid. When the locking member 666 is in the locked position, theplurality of grate engagers or teeth 660 extending downwardly andforwardly from the front portion 654 of the body 652 prevent the upwardand forward movement of the chock 650 relative to the grating or wiregrid, and the plurality of grate engagers or teeth 668 extendingdownwardly from the locking member 666 prevent the rearward movement ofthe chock 650 relative to the grating or wire grid.

This illustrated embodiment of the chock 650 further includes a storageassembly having storage clasps 810 and 813 suitably attached to eachside of the rear portion 658 of the body 652. As further discussedbelow, these storage clasps function to hold the chock in a verticallyextending storage pan (see FIGS. 43, 44 and 45) and do not function tohold the chock 650 to the grating or wire grid (see FIG. 4B).

Turning now more specifically to the locking assembly 664, the centralportion 656 and the rear portion 658 of the body 652 are configuredsupport the locking assembly 664. More specifically, the rear portion658 of the body 652 includes spaced-apart side walls 702 and 704 and arear wall or base 706 interconnecting and extending between the sidewalls or bases 702 and 704. The side walls or bases 702 and 704 areconnected to the central portion 656 of the body 652 and extendrearwardly from the central portion. The central portion 656 and theside walls 702 and 704 and rear wall or base 706 of the rear portion 658of the body 652 define a locking member receiving area 710 (see FIGS.36, 37, 38, 39) in which the locking member 666 of the locking assembly664 is movably positioned. The illustrated locking member 666 isgenerally rectangular and sized and configured to be positioned in thelocking member receiving area 710.

More specifically, the locking member 666 is pivotally connected to therear portion 656 of the body 652 by a second pivot member (not shown).The rear portion 656 of the body 652 facilitates pivotal attachment ofthe locking member 666 to the body 652 by the second pivot member. Thesecond pivot member extends through the body 652 and the rear end of thelocking member 666.

The locking member 666 includes front and rear upwardly projectingbosses 812 and 814 configured to receive and support a locking pin 820for axial movement. The locking pin 820 is positioned in the bosses 812and 814 and a compression spring (not shown) is journaled about thelocking pin 820 between the bosses 812 and 814. The compression springbiases the locking pin 220 forwardly to its normal or resting position.The free end of the locking pin 820 extends forwardly from boss 812 andis configured to be received in a locking notch 724 in locking bar 726.Locking bar 726 extends upwardly from the central portion 656 of thebody 652. The locking bar 726 includes a rearwardly facing biasing wall.The biasing wall is illustrated with a minor angle; however, it shouldbe appreciated that the biasing wall may have a larger angle. When thelocking member 666 is pivoted downwardly from the unlocked position,toward the locked position, the free end of the locking pin 820 engagesthe biasing wall of the locking bar 726 which causes the locking pin 820to be biased against the compression spring. When the free end of thelocking pin 820 reaches the locking notch 724, the compression springcauses the locking pin 820 to move into the locking notch 724 and thussecure the locking member 666 in the locked position.

The locking assembly 664 includes a handle 830 secured to the lockingpin 820 for moving the locking pin 820 axially to facilitate theunlocking of the locking member 666. The handle 830 has a grippingmember 832 at its rear end to enable a loader to easily operate thelocking assembly 664. In the illustrated embodiment, the handle 830 isdirectly attached to the locking pin 820. The handle 830 is sized andconfigured to enable a loader to lock and unlock the locking member 666of the locking assembly 664. In operation, to disengage the locking pin820 from the locking notch 824, the loader pulls on the rear side of thehandle 830 (against the force of the compression spring to disengage thelocking pin from the locking notch) and then moves or rotates thelocking member 666 upwardly to the unlocked position. This lockingassembly 664 includes a slip ring, clip or retainer 800 attached to andpositioned around the locking pin 820 between boss 812 and the handle830 for maintaining the locking pin 820 and limiting movement of thelocking pin 820 to the desired movement. It should be appreciated thatother alternative configurations or modifications of the lockingassembly can be made in accordance with the present invention.

Similar to the above embodiments, the chock 650 includes a plurality ofdownwardly projecting grate engagers or teeth 660 which extenddownwardly from the front section 654 of the body 652 and are arrangedin four parallel spaced rows each having four teeth. Each grate engageror tooth 660 has a curved or rounded surface which faces downwardly andforwardly. The curved surfaces permit pivoting of the body 652 betweenan upper inclined released position and a downward horizontal lockedposition where the grate engagers or teeth project between the parallelspaced wires and engage the wires of the grating or wire grid. In oneembodiment, the grate engagers or teeth 660 are made from a suitablemetal. It should be appreciated that the grate engagers or teeth can bemade from any suitably strong material. It should also be appreciatedthat the number of grate engagers can be varied in accordance with thepresent disclosure. It should further be appreciated that the componentsof the chock 650 are respectively made from the same materials asdescribed above, but could alternatively be made from other suitablematerials. Similar to the above embodiments, the locking member 666 ofthe chock 650 also has a plurality of downwardly projecting grateengagers or teeth 668 having rounded front corner surfaces for enteringand engaging the grating or wire grid. The grate engagers or teeth 668are arranged in a plurality of laterally spaced-apart rows with each rowhaving a plurality of teeth (e.g., four in the illustrated embodiment).In one embodiment, the grate engagers or teeth 668 are made from asuitable metal. It should be appreciated that the grate engagers orteeth can be made from any suitably strong material.

The chock 650 is used by positioning the chock 650 on the grating orwire grid adjacent a tire and then hooking the grate engagers or teeth660 onto the cross wires while the locking member 666 is in the unlockedposition. When the locking member 666 is pivoted to its locked position,the teeth 668 on the locking member 666 enter into and engage thegrating or wire grid to secure the chock 650 so that it cannot shiftrearwardly to release the grate engagers or teeth from the cross wires.

As mentioned above, this embodiment of the chock 650 has a storageassembly including a plurality of storage clasps 810 and 813 suitablyattached to the rear portion 658 of the body 652. More specifically, therear portion 658 of the body 652 includes a plurality of storage clasppockets 809 and 811 respectively configured to receive and maintain thestorage clasps 810 and 813. While the storage clasp pockets 809 and 811and the upper mounting portions of the storage clasps 810 and 813 arerectangular, they can alternatively be any suitable shape. The storageclasps are preferably made of a suitable steel, but could be made fromany other suitable material. The storage clasps are respectivelysuitably attached to the body in the pockets.

Turning now to FIGS. 43, 44, and 45, the chock 650 is positioned in avertically positioned storage pan (which although not shown, is suitablyattached to the inside wall and the side walls of the auto-rack car).The lower clasping portion of the storage clasp 810 of the storageassembly of the chock 650 is engaging the storage cross bar 902 in thestorage pan 900. When the chock is not in use, this configuration andplacement in the storage pan prevents unwanted movement of the chock andthus damage to the chock and vehicles in the auto-rack railroad car.This embodiment is thus configured to utilize the current storage pansin auto-rack railroad cars.

Turning now to FIG. 46, the chock 650 is shown positioned on a grating46. The lower clasping portion of the storage clasp 810 is not intendedto engage the grating members to hold the chock in place on the grating.The lower clasping portion is spaced from the grating members. It shouldbe appreciated that the lower clasping portion can be further positionedor moved more toward the rear of the body 652 so as to not interferewith the grate engagers or teeth 668 of the locking assembly.

It should be appreciated that the chock illustrated in FIGS. 27 to 46 ofthe present invention provides advantages over the device described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,851,523, such as by providing an alternative lockingassembly and by providing the storage clasps. This enables the loader toeasily lock and unlock the chock and enables the storage of the chock inthe storage pan.

Referring now to FIGS. 47 to 57, a further embodiment of the chock ofthe present invention is illustrated. The chock of this embodiment isgenerally indicated by numeral 1050. This illustrated embodiment of thechock 1050 includes: (a) a body 1052 having a front portion 1054, acentral portion 1056, and a rear portion 1058; (b) a plurality of grateengagers or teeth 1060 extending downwardly and forwardly from the frontportion 1054; (c) a tire engaging assembly at the front portion 1054;(d) a locking assembly 1064 having a locking member 1066 pivotallyconnected to the rear portion 1058 of the body 1052 and lockable at thecentral portion 1056 of the body 1052; and (e) a plurality of grateengagers or teeth 1068 extending downwardly from the locking member1066. Generally, the tire engaging assembly at the front portion 1054 ofthe body 1052 includes pivotable interacting and interlocking inner andouter tire engagers 1070 and 1076, respectively, configurable inmultiple different positions to respectively engage different size tiresof multiple different vehicles without engaging the different fenders,moldings, trim or bumpers of those vehicles. Generally, the lockingmember 1066 of the locking assembly 1064 is pivotally connected to therear portion 1058 of the body 1052 and is moveable between: (a) anunlocked or released position which facilitates attachment anddetachment of the chock 1050 from the grating or wire grid; and (b) alocked position wherein the chock 1050 is secured to the grating or wiregrid. When the locking member 1066 is in the locked position, theplurality of grate engagers or teeth 1060 extending downwardly andforwardly from the front portion 1054 of the body 1052 prevent theupward and forward movement of the chock 1050 relative to the grating orwire grid, and the plurality of grate engagers or teeth 1068 extendingdownwardly from the locking member 1066 prevent the rearward movement ofthe chock 1050 relative to the grating or wire grid.

It should be appreciated that the chock 1050 is configured to operatecompletely in one of the safe zones adjacent to the tire (as generallyillustrated in FIG. 3B) for almost all currently commercially soldvehicles in North America. The present disclosure thus provides auniversal chock for these vehicles. This chock enables vehiclemanufacturers to continue to ship new vehicles in auto-rack railroadcars on the existing gratings. More specifically, the tire engagers ofthe chock are configured to remain in the safe zone regardless of thepositions of the tire engagers as generally illustrated in FIG. 47Awhich shows chock 1050 in safe zone 41 a.

It should also be appreciated that because the chock of the presentdisclosure operates in the safe zone, the vehicle manufacturers caninstall air dams on the vehicles at the factory instead of having thedealers install the air dams at the dealership. This substantially saveson overall manufacturing cost and the transportation costs for the airdams.

More specifically, in this illustrated embodiment, the front portion1054, the central portion 1056, and rear portion 1058 of the body 1052are integrally formed. In one embodiment, the body 1052 is molded of aliquid thermoset plastics material primarily composed of a pluralcomponent liquid monomer mixture which can be molded by a reactioninjection molding (RIM) process. The body can alternatively be made fromother suitable materials such as nylon, a glass filled nylon, aDicyclopentadiene, an Acrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or apolycarbonate. It should further be appreciated that the body could bemade from any one or more suitable materials, including other metals,plastics, ceramics and composite materials or combinations thereof. Itshould also be appreciated that the body illustrated in FIGS. 47 to 52,may be alternatively configured in accordance with the presentinvention. It should also be appreciated that the body may be formed inmultiple sections which are suitably attached.

In this illustrated embodiment, part of the front portion 1054 of thebody 1052 functions as part of the tire engaging assembly and isconfigured to mate with and co-act with the inner and outer tireengagers 1070 and 1076. The front side of inner tire engager 1070 andthe front side of the outer tire engager 1076 are each configured tomate with and co-act with the top and forward side of the front portion1054 of the body 1052 when the inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and1076 are respectively in the retracted positions such that the back sideof inner tire engager 1070 and the back side of outer tire engager arepositioned to engage a tire. The top side of the front portion 1054 ofthe body 1052 and the front side of inner tire engager 1070 are alsoconfigured co-act when the inner tire engager 1070 is in the extendedposition such that the front side of inner tire engager 1070, the topside of the front portion 1054, and the back side of outer tire engagerare positioned to engage the tire. The top side of the front portion1054 of the body 1052, the front side of inner tire engager 1070, andthe front side of the outer tire engager 1076 are also configured co-actwhen the inner tire engager 1070 and the outer tire engager 1076 areboth in the extended position such that the front side of inner tireengager 1070, the front side of the outer tire engager 1076, and the topside of the front portion 1054 are positioned to engage the tire.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 51 and 53, the inner tire engager 1070includes a body 1080 and two spaced apart arms 1082 and 1084 connectedto and extending from the body 1080. The arms 1082 and 1084 have handsor pivot ends 1086 and 1088, respectively.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 51 and 54, the outer tire engager 1076includes a body 1090 and two spaced apart arms 1092 and 1094 connectedto and extending from the body 1090. The arms 1092 and 1094 have handsor pivot ends 1096 and 1098. The arms 1092 and 1094 and the body 1090 ofthe outer tire engager 1076 define a central open area sized and shapedto receive the inner tire engager 1070.

When the inner tire engager 1070 and the other tire engager 1076 areboth in either the retracted position or the extended position (as bestseen in FIG. 47), they co-act to form a wall for engaging the tire. Inone embodiment, the inner and outer tire engagers are both molded from aliquid thermoset plastics material primarily composed of a pluralcomponent liquid monomer mixture which can be molded by a reactioninjection molding (RIM) process. The tire engagers can alternatively bemade from a nylon, a glass filled nylon, a Dicyclopentadiene, anAcrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or a polycarbonate. In one embodiment,the tire engagers are made from the same material and in alternativeembodiments, the tire engagers may be made from different materials ordifferent strength materials. In one such embodiment, the outer tireengager is made from a glass filled polyurethane and the inner tireengager is made from a glass filled nylon. It should further beappreciated that the tire engagers could be made from any one or moresuitable materials, including other metals, plastics, ceramics andcomposite materials or combinations thereof. It should also beappreciated that the configurations and sizes of the inner and outertire engagers or portions thereof may vary in accordance with thepresent invention.

The tire engagers 1070 and 1076 co-act with the front portion 1054 ofthe body 1052 to form the tire engaging assembly. More specifically, asbest seen in FIGS. 47, 51, 52 and 52A, the front portion 1054 of thebody 1052 includes: (a) upwardly extending tire engager supports 1102,1104, and 1106 which are configured to pivotally support the inner andouter tire engagers 1070 and 1076; (b) semi-cylindrical pivot areas 1101and 1107 extending respectively inwardly from the outer sides of thebody 1052 to the tire engager supports 1102 and 1106, respectively andconfigured to receive pivot ends 1096 and 1098 of the outer tire engager1070; and (c) semi-cylindrical pivot areas 1103 and 1105 extendingrespectively between tire engager supports 1102, 1104, and 1106 andconfigured to receive the pivot ends 1086 and 1088 of the inner tireengager 1070. The pivot areas 1101, 1103, 1105, and 1107 respectivelyinclude or define securing slots 1420, 1422, 1424, and 1426 forreceiving securing tongues 1410, 1412, 1414, and 1416 as furtherdiscussed below, and tongue clearance areas 1101 a, 1103 a, 1105 a, and1107 a which allow the inner and outer tire engagers to rotate withoutinterference between the securing tongues 1410, 1412, 1414, and 1416 andthe upper surface of the front portion 1054 of the body 1052. The frontportion 1054 of the body 1052 also includes: (a) laterally spaced apartupwardly extending reinforcing ribs or supports 1112, 1114, 1116, 1118,1120, 1122, and 1124 which are configured to support the inner and outertire engagers 1070 and 1076 when they are in the retracted positions;and (b) laterally spaced-apart tire engager receipt areas or recesses1113, 1115, 1117, 1119, 1121, and 1123 configured to receive the innerand outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 when they are in the retractedpositions.

As best seen in FIGS. 47, 51, and 53, the front side of the inner tireengager 1070 includes laterally spaced apart outwardly extendingreinforcing ribs or supports 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1138 configured to bereceived in the spaced-apart tire engager receipt areas or recesses1115, 1117, 1119, and 1121 when the inner tire engager 1070 is in theretracted position. The inner tire engager 1070 also includes laterallyspaced-apart body receipt areas or recesses 1131, 1133, 1135, 1137, and1139 (see FIG. 53) configured to receive laterally spaced-apart upwardlyextending reinforcing ribs or supports 1114, 1116, 1118, 1120, and 1122of the body 1052 when the inner tire engager 1070 is in the retractedposition.

As best seen in FIGS. 47, 51 and 54, the front side of the outer tireengager 1076 includes laterally spaced-apart downwardly extendingreinforcing ribs or supports 1142, 1144, 1146, 1148, 1150, and 1152 (SeeFIG. 54) configured to be received in the spaced-apart tire engagerreceipt areas or recesses 1113, 1115, 1117, 1119, 1121, and 1123 whenthe outer tire engager 1076 is in the retracted position. The outer tireengager 1076 includes laterally spaced-apart body receipt areas orrecesses 1141, 1143, 1145, 1147, 1149, 1151, and 1153 configured toreceive laterally spaced-apart upwardly extending reinforcing ribs orsupports 1114, 1116, 1118, 1120, and 1122 of the body 1052 when theouter tire engager 1076 is in the retracted position.

The outer tire engager 1076 also includes a lip 1099 (see FIG. 54) forproviding additional structural support of the outer tire engager 1070.When the outer tire engager 1076 is in the retracted position, the lip1099 extends downwardly and toward the body 1052. When the outer tireengager 1076 is in the extended position, the lip 1099 extends outwardlytoward the tire. The outer tire engager 1076 also includes storagemember locking fingers 1099 a, 1099 b and 1099 c extending from theouter surface of the lip 1099 for engaging the bottom portion of thestorage pan as best illustrated in FIGS. 54, 59 and 60 and as furtherdescribed below.

The inner tire engager 1070 and the outer tire engager 1076 are eachpivotally attached to the body 1052 by a suitable first pivot member.More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment as best seen in FIG.51, the first pivot member includes a bolt 1502, a first washer 1504, asecond washer 1506, and a nut 1508. It should be appreciated that thefirst pivot member could be configured in other suitable manners. Thebolt 1052 extends through pivot ends 1096 and 1098 of the outer tireengager 1076, pivot ends 1086 and 1088 of the inner tire engager 1070,tire engager supports 1102, 1104 and 1106 of the body 1052 to enable theinner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 to independently pivotrelative to the body 1052, and pivot connection bars or brackets 1250and 1252. The first pivot member thus attaches the pivot connectionbrackets 1250 and 1252 to the body 1052 of the chock 1050. The pivotconnection bracket 1250 is also attached to the body 1052 of the chock1050 by a suitable fastener such as a bolt 1512, a first washer 1514, asecond washer 1516, and a nut 1518 as seen in FIGS. 50 and 51. The pivotconnection bracket 1252 (and the paddle 1180) is also attached to thebody 1052 of the chock 1050 by a suitable fastener such as a bolt 1522,a first washer 1524, a second washer 1526, and a nut 1528 as also seenin FIGS. 50 and 51. The pivot connection brackets 1250 and 1252 provideadditional structural integrity to the tire engaging assembly. It shouldalso be appreciated that these pivot connection brackets, pivot membersand fasteners are configured to facilitate the replacement of the innerand outer tire engagers in the event such tire engagers break. Asmentioned above, bracket 1252 also functions as a handle for the chock1050.

It should be appreciated that the pivot connection brackets and thepaddle may be made from any suitable materials. In one embodiment, thepaddle is molded from a glass filled nylon. In one embodiment, thebrackets are molded from an Acrylonitrile-butadine-styrene. It shouldalso be appreciated that the these components may be alternativelyconfigured and sized n accordance with the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated that such inner and outer tire engagers 1070and 1076 are configured in certain embodiments to break upon a designedamount of pressure placed on such tire engagers by a tire as describedin detail above. This construction prevents damage to the internalcomponents of the vehicle as described above.

As indicated above and best illustrated in FIGS. 47, 51, 53, and 54, theinner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 are configured to be coupledtogether, interconnected or interlocking. The reinforcing ribs orsupports 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1138 of the inner tire engager 1070respectively include indentations, slots or steps 1162, 1164, 1166, and1168 (see FIGS. 51 and 53) configured to respectively receive connectingprotrusions, pins or steps 1172, 1174, 1176, and 1178 (see FIGS. 51 and54) extending from the reinforcing ribs or supports 1144, 1146, 1148,and 1150 of the outer tire engager 1076. This configuration enables theinner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 to co-act such that when theinner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 are in the retractedposition and the outer tire engager 1076 is moved from the retractedposition to the extended position, the outer tire engager 1076 causesthe inner tire engager 1070 to also move from the retracted position tothe extended position. This configuration enables a loader to easilymove both the inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 to theirrespective extended positions. If the loader desires to just move theinner tire engager 1070 to its extended position (and to have the outertire engager 1076 in the retracted position), after this rotation ofboth tire engagers, the outer tire engager 1076 can be disengaged ordecoupled from the inner tire engager 1070 and rotated back to itsretracted position, leaving the inner tire engager 1070 in its extendedposition. This configuration also provide substantial support by theinner tire engager 1070 for the outer tire engager 1076. In other words,when both tire engagers are in the extended positions, and pressure by atire is applied to the upper portion of the outer tire engager, theinterlocking steps of the inner and outer tire engagers provideadditional support for the outer tire engager.

It should be appreciated that the central portion 1056 of the body 1052also serves to support the inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076when each of them are in the extended position. More specifically, whenthe inner tire engager 1070 is in the extended position, it restsagainst the support section 1190 of the central portion 1056 of the body1052. Likewise, when the outer tire engager 1076 is in the extendedposition, it rests against the support section 1190 of the centralportion 1056.

When the inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 are pivotallyattached to the body 1052, the securing tongues 1410, 1412, 1414, and1416 of the inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 are configuredto move within the tongue clearance areas 1101 a, 1103 a, 1105 a, and1107 a of the pivot areas 1101, 1103, 1105, and 1107 to enable rotationfrom the retracted positions to the extended positions, and from theextended positions to the retracted positions without interference. Morespecifically, the pivot ends 1086 and 1088 (see FIG. 53) of the innertire engager 1070 respectively define or include oval pivot memberadjustment or rotation slots 1086 a and 1088 a, and the pivot ends 1096and 1098 (See FIG. 54) of the outer tire engager 1076 respectivelydefine or include oval pivot member adjustment or rotation slots 1096 aand 1098 a. These oval pivot member adjustment or rotation slots enablethe inner and outer tire engagers 1070 and 1076 to first be rotated toan intermediate extended position where the securing tongues 1410, 1412,1414, and 1416 are not in the securing slots 1420, 1422 1424, and 1426,and then moved downwardly to the locked extended position such that thesecuring tongues 1410, 1412, 1414, and 1416 are in the securing slots1420, 1422, 1424, and 1426. The tongues are received in the respectiveslots to prevent undesired rotation or pivoting of the respective innerand outer tire engagers after they have been positioned in the lockedextended positions by a loader. It should be appreciated that inalternative embodiments, when one or both of the inner and outer tireengagers are rotated, they are in the locked extended positions and donot need to be moved downwardly. It should also be appreciated that theinner and outer tire engagers can be of other suitable configurationsand can interlock or otherwise interact in other suitable manners.

The chock 1050 includes a paddle 1180 attached to the central portion1056 of the body 1052 to prevent lateral movement of the tire. In theillustrated embodiment, the paddle 1180 is attached to the body 1052 bybracket 1252. In the illustrated embodiment, the paddle 1180 isintegrally formed with the bracket 1252. In alternative embodiments, thepaddle 1180 and the bracket 1252 may be separate components. In theillustrated embodiment, the paddle 1180 includes a forward tire engagingportion 1182 configured to engage the side of the tire and a rearstabilizing portion 1184 integrally connected to the connection bracket1252 for stability. When the tire exerts pressure on the forward tireengaging portion 1182 of the paddle 1180, the bracket 1252 and the rearstabilizing portion 1184 serve to stabilize the paddle 1180. It shouldbe appreciated that the paddle 1180 does not move with either of thetire engagers 1070 or 1076 and is configured to engage the side of thetire at a relatively low position regardless of the position of the tireengagers. One advantage of this configuration is that the paddle isalways positioned in a safe zone, and thus will not interfere with thefender of the vehicle. Another advantage is that the paddle 1180 is inthe low position to prevent lateral shifting of the tire and prevent thetire from walking out of the chock. It should be appreciated that thepaddle can be configured and attached to the body in other suitablemanners.

Turning now to the locking assembly 1064, the central portion 1056 andthe rear portion 1058 of the body 1052 are configured support thelocking assembly 1064. More specifically, the rear portion 1058 of thebody 1052 includes spaced-apart side walls 1202 and 1204 and a rear wallor base 1206 interconnecting and extending between the side walls orbases 1202 and 1204. The side walls or bases 1202 and 1204 are connectedto the central portion 1056 of the body 1052 and extend rearwardly fromthe central portion 1056. The central portion 1056 and the side walls1202 and 1204 and rear wall or base 1206 of the rear portion 1058 of thebody 1052 define a locking member receiving area 1210 in which thelocking member 1066 of the locking assembly 1064 is movably or rotatablypositioned.

The locking member 1066 is generally rectangular and sized andconfigured to be positioned in the locking member receiving area 1210.In one embodiment, the locking member is molded of a liquid thermosetplastics material primarily composed of a plural component liquidmonomer mixture which can be molded by a reaction injection molding(RIM) process. The locking member can alternatively be made from anylon, a glass filled nylon, a Dicyclopentadiene, anAcrylonitrile-butadine-styrene, or a polycarbonate. It should further beappreciated that the locking member could be made from any one or moresuitable materials, including other metals, plastics, ceramics andcomposite materials or combinations thereof.

More specifically, the locking member 1066 is pivotally connected to therear portion 1058 of the body 1052 by a second pivot member. The secondpivot member in the illustrated embodiment includes a bolt 1532, a firstwasher 1534, a second washer 1536, and a nut 1538 as seen in FIGS. 50and 51. It should be appreciated that other suitable pivot assembliescan be employed. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear portion 1058 ofthe body 1052 includes two recess areas 1809 and 1811 (see FIG. 50)configured to facilitate such pivotal attachment of the locking member1066 to the body 1052.

Turing now to FIGS. 48, 49, 51, 51A, 55, 56, 56A, and 57, the lockingmember 1066 includes front and rear upwardly projecting bosses 1212 and1214 configured to receive and support a locking pin 1220 for axialmovement. The locking pin 1220 is positioned in or extends though thebosses 1212 and 1214 and a compression spring 1222 is journaled aboutthe locking pin 1220 between the bosses 1212 and 1214. The compressionspring 1222 biases the locking pin 1220 forwardly to its normal orresting position (through the handle as discussed below). The free end1221 of the locking pin 1220 extends forwardly from boss 1212 and isconfigured to be received in a locking notch 1224 in the central portion1056 of the body 1052 (as best illustrated in FIG. 52A). The lockingarea or surface 1226 includes a sloped rearwardly facing biasing wall1228 as best seen in FIG. 52A and as also well illustrated in FIG. 60).If the biasing wall is appropriately sloped, in one embodiment, when thelocking member 1066 is pivoted downwardly from the unlocked position,toward the locked position, the free end 1221 of the locking pin 1220engages the sloped biasing wall 1228 of the locking area or surface 1226which causes the locking pin 1220 to be biased against the compressionspring 1222 journaled about the locking pin 1220. When the free end 1221of the locking pin 1220 reaches the locking notch 1224, the compressionspring 1222 causes the locking pin 1220 to move into the locking notch1224 and thus secure the locking member 1066 in the locked position.This movement of the locking pin 1220 can and in certain embodiments isaccomplished by the handle 1230 as discussed below.

In the illustrated embodiment, the handle 1230 of the locking assembly1060 is pivotally attached to the locking member 1066 and configured toactuate the locking pin 1220 axially (against the compression spring1222) to facilitate the unlocking of the locking member 1066. In theillustrated embodiment, the handle 1230 includes a hand grasp 1233, anactuation arm 1234 attached to the hand grasp 1233, an actuation hand1235 attached to the actuation arm 1234, and a pivot finger or lever1236 attached to the actuation hand 1235. More specifically, the pivotfinger or lever 1236 is pivotally attached to the locking member 1066 bya pivot pin 1237. The pivot pin 1237 is configured to be received in apivot hole 1213 a in the locking member 1066. The handle 1230 isconfigured to pivot about the pivot pin 1237. The actuation hand 1235defines a horizontally or substantially horizontally extending lockingpin opening 1239 sized and configured such that the locking pin 1220extends through the locking pin opening 1239. The actuation hand 1235also defines a pair of aligned vertically or substantially verticalextending oval roll or engagement pin openings 1241 and 1243 sized andconfigured such that a roll or engagement pin 1242 attached to thelocking pin 1220 extends upwardly from the locking pin 1220 through theroll or engagement pin openings 1241 and 1243. The locking assembly 1060also includes an actuation bearing 1245 slidably mounted on the lockingpin 1220 and positioned adjacent to the rear side of the actuation hand1235 next to the compression spring 1222.

In operation, the handle 1230 is moveable from a resting position asillustrated in FIGS. 48, 55, and 56 to an actuation or actuated positionas illustrated in FIGS. 49 and 57. When the handle 1230 is moved fromthe resting position to the actuated position, the actuation hand 1235causes the roll or engagement pin 1242 to move rearwardly which in turncauses the locking pin 1220 to move rearwardly and to be released fromthe locking notch 1224 (see FIG. 52A). In other words, the force appliedagainst the hand grasp 1233 causes a rearward force against the lockingpin 1220. When the handle 1230 is moved from the resting position (seeFIG. 56) to the actuated position (see FIG. 57), the roll or engagementpin 1242 (which is attached to the locking pin 1220) moves from thefront of the roll or engagement pin openings 1241 and 1243 (see FIG. 56)to the rear of the roll or engagement pin openings 1241 and 1243 (seeFIG. 57). This configuration also limits the movement of the handle andthe locking pin. When the locking pin is disengaged from the lockingnotch 1224 (see FIG. 52A), the locking member 1066 can be upwardlyrotated to release the locking assembly from the grating. It should beappreciated that the hand grasp 1233 is sized and configured to enable aloader to lock and unlock the locking member 1066 of the lockingassembly 1064 without placing the loaders hand under the vehicle whichthus also limits damage to the vehicle and injury to the loader orunloader.

It should also be appreciated that when the handle is actuatedrearwardly, the compression spring 1222 biases the actuation bearing1245 forwardly, which in turn applies a forward force to the actuationhandle 1235, which in turn applies a forward force to the roll orengagement pin 1242, which in turn applies a forward force to thelocking pin 1220.

It should be appreciated that locking assembly and the components can bemade from any suitable materials. For instance, in one embodiment, thelocking member 1066 and the handle 1230 made from a glass filled nylon.It should also be appreciated that one or more of the components of thelocking assembly may be alternatively configured. It should also beappreciated that a suitable clip may be employed to more maintain thelocking pin in the bosses.

It should be appreciated that the illustrated locking assembly has thehandle extending from the right side, and that the locking assembly andhandle can be alternatively configured such that the handle extends fromthe left side. In such embodiment, the pivot pin 1237 would bepositioned in pivot hole 1213 b illustrated in FIG. 51A.

Unlike the above embodiments of the chock shown in FIGS. 27 to 46, thelocking member 1066 of chock 1050 includes an engagement wedge 1067extending from the front of the locking member 1066 as best shown inFIGS. 48, 49, 50, 51A, 55, 56, and 57. This engagement wedge 1067 isconfigured to engage the back surface 1227 of the central portion 1056of the body 1052 when the locking member 1066 is in the locked position.This engagement wedge 1067 prevents relative movement of the body 1052to the locking member 1066 when the inner and outer tire engagers 1070and 1076 or engaged by a tire. This engagement wedge 1067 substantiallyfills the gap which existed between the locking member and the centralportion in the chock of FIGS. 27 to 46 as best seen in FIGS. 37 and 39.This engagement wedge prevents the body and the front grate engagersfrom rearward movement and from disengaging the gating when rearwardforces are applied to the tire engagers (or to otherwise to the front ofthe body), and thus prevents disengagement of the chock from thegrating.

As discussed above, the chock 1050 also includes a plurality ofdownwardly projecting grate engagers or teeth 1060 which extenddownwardly from the front section 1054 of the body 1052 and are arrangedin four grate engagers or parallel spaced rows each having four teeth.Each grate engager or tooth 1060 has a curved or rounded surface whichfaces downwardly and forwardly. The curved surfaces permit pivoting ofthe body 1052 between an upper inclined released position and a downwardhorizontal locked position where the grate engagers or teeth 1060project between the parallel spaced wires and engage the wires of thegrating or wire grid. The grate engagers or teeth 1060 are arranged in aplurality of laterally spaced apart rows with each row having aplurality of teeth. The grate engagers or teeth 1060 are made from asuitable metal. It should be appreciated that the grate engagers orteeth can be made from any suitably strong material. In the illustratedembodiment, the grate engagers 1060 are respectively attached to twograte engager brackets 1060 a and 1060 b (see FIGS. 50 and 51) which areattached to the front portion 1054 of the body 1052 by suitablefasteners such as bolts 1542 a and 1542 b, washers 1544 a and 1544 b,and nuts 1548 a and 1548 b. It should be appreciated as shown in FIGS.47, 48, 50, 51, and 52 that the front portion 1054 (and particularlyupwardly extending reinforcing ribs or supports 1114 and 1122) definesuitable openings for the fasteners.

As best seen in FIG. 51A, the locking member 1066 of the chock 1050 alsohas a plurality of downwardly projecting grate engagers or teeth 1068having rounded front corner surfaces for entering and engaging thegrating or wire grid. The grate engagers or teeth 1068 are arranged in aplurality of laterally spaced-apart rows with each row having aplurality of teeth. The grate engagers or teeth 1068 are made from asuitable metal. It should be appreciated that the grate engagers orteeth can be made from any suitably strong material. In the illustratedembodiment, the grate engagers 1068 are respectively attached to twograte engager brackets 1068 a and 1068 b which are attached to thelocking member 1066 by suitable fasteners such as bolts 1552 a and 1552b, washers 1554 a and 1554 b, and nuts 1558 a and 1558 b. It should beappreciated that, as shown in FIGS. 48, 59, 50, 51A, 55, 56, and 57, thelocking member 1066 defines suitable openings for the fasteners. As bestseen in FIGS. 51A, the rear edge of each of the grate engagers isstraight or substantially straight and the front edge of each of thegrate engagers is curved. This facilitates insertion into the gratingwhen the locking member is moved from the open position to the closedand locked position. It should be appreciated that the grate engagersand the grate engager brackets can be alternatively configured inaccordance with the present disclosure.

Turning now to FIGS. 58, 59, and 60, the present disclosure alsoprovides a chock storage bracket 1950 for holding a chock 1050 in astorage pan 900 attached to a side wall of an auto-rack railroad car.The chock storage bracket 1950 includes a pan attachment wall or arm1952, a chock engager or holder 1954 and a connection arm 1956connecting the chock engager or holder 1954 to the pan attachment wallor arm 1952. The chock engager or holder 1954 is biased by theconnection arm 1956 toward the pan attachment wall or arm 1952. The panattachment wall 1952 is configured to fit between the storage pan 900and the side wall of the auto-rack car (not shown) to hold the chockstorage bracket 1950 in place. The chock engager 1954 is configured toengage the rear wall or base 1206 interconnecting and extending betweenthe side walls or bases 1202 and 1204 of the rear portion 1058 of thebody 1052. The chock storage bracket is in one embodiment molded from asuitable nylon or other suitable plastic material. It should beappreciated that the chock storage bracket can be made from othersuitable materials and in other suitable manners. It should also beappreciated that the chock storage bracket can be configured in othersuitable configurations.

It should also be appreciated that, as mentioned above, the outer tireengager 1076 includes storage member locking fingers 1099 a, 1099 b and1099 c extending from the outer surface of the lip 1099 for engaging thebottom portion of the storage pan 900 as best illustrated in FIGS. 59.

Turning now to FIGS. 61 and 62, an alternative pivot connection bracket2250 is illustrated. The pivot connection bracket 2250 includesalternatively configured ends 2250 a and 2250 b. This alternativeconfiguration is advantageous to reduce possible breakage of the pivotconnection bracket and for assembly purposes. It should be appreciatedthat the connection brackets can be configured in other alternativeconfiguration in accordance with the present disclosure.

Turning now to FIG. 63, an alternative handle of the locking assembly isillustrated. In this alternative embodiment, the handle 1230 a includesa hand grasp 1233 a, an actuation arm 1234 a attached to the hand grasp1233 a, an actuation hand 1235 a attached to the actuation arm 1234 a,and a pivot finger or lever 1236 a attached to the actuation hand 1235a. The actuation hand 1235 a defines a horizontally or substantiallyhorizontally extending locking pin opening 1239 a. The actuation hand1235 a also defines a pair of aligned vertically or substantiallyvertical extending oval roll or engagement pin openings 1241 a and 1243a. This alternative configuration is advantageous to reduce possiblebreakage of the handle. It should be appreciated that the handle can beconfigured in other alternative configurations in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

It should also be appreciated that this pivot handle mechanism can beconfigured to be used in a locking mechanism which is pivotally attachedto the center portion of the body and locks at the rear portion of thebody. Such embodiment, may include one or more engagement wedges orother suitable configurations to prevent disengagement of the chock fromthe grating.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention, and it is understood that this application is to be limitedonly by the scope of the claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A vehicle wheel chock tireengager for a vehicle wheel chock, said vehicle wheel chock tire engagercomprising: a plurality of connected pivot members pivotally attachableto a front portion of a body of the vehicle wheel chock, said frontportion defining a plurality of pivot recess areas and defining aplurality of securing slots in the pivot recess areas; and a pluralityof securing tongues attached to the pivot members, said tire engagersecuring tongues configured to be received in the securing slots toprevent undesired pivoting of the pivot members when the pivot membersare attached to the front portion of the body of the vehicle wheel chockand are in an extended position.
 2. The vehicle wheel chock tire engagerof claim 1, wherein each of the pivot member defines an oval pivotmember adjustment slot.
 3. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim1, which is an inner tire engager.
 4. The vehicle wheel chock tireengager of claim 1, which is an inner tire engager interlockable with anouter tire engager which is pivotally attachable to the front portion ofthe body of the vehicle wheel chock.
 5. The vehicle wheel chock tireengager of claim 4, which includes a plurality of steps.
 6. The vehiclewheel chock tire engager of claim 1, which is an outer tire engager. 7.The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 1, which is an outer tireengager interlockable with an inner tire engager pivotally attachable tothe front portion of the body of the vehicle wheel chock.
 8. The vehiclewheel chock tire engager of claim 7, which includes a plurality ofsteps.
 9. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 1, whichincludes a plurality of reinforcing ribs.
 10. The vehicle wheel chocktire engager of claim 1, wherein each pivot member includes an arm and ahand, and wherein the securing tongues are attached to the hands.
 11. Avehicle wheel chock tire engager for a vehicle wheel chock, said vehiclechock tire engager pivotally attachable to a front portion of a body ofthe vehicle wheel chock, said front portion defining: (a) a first pivotrecess area, (b) a second pivot recess area, (c) a first securing slotin the first pivot recess area, and (d) a second securing slot in thesecond pivot recess area, said vehicle wheel chock tire engagercomprising: a first pivot member; a first securing tongue attached tothe first pivot member and configured to be received in the firstsecuring slot to prevent undesired pivoting of the first pivot memberwhen the first pivot member is attached to the front portion of the bodyof the vehicle wheel chock and is in an extended position; a secondpivot member connected to the first pivot member; and a second securingtongue attached to the second pivot member and configured to be receivedin the second securing slot to prevent undesired pivoting of the secondpivot member when the second pivot member is attached to the frontportion of the body of the vehicle wheel chock and is in the extendedposition.
 12. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 11, whereinthe first pivot member defines a first oval pivot member adjustmentslot.
 13. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 12, wherein thesecond pivot member defines a second oval pivot member adjustment slot.14. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 11, which is an innertire engager.
 15. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 11,which is an inner tire engager interlockable with an outer tire engagerwhich is pivotally attachable to the front portion of the body of thevehicle wheel chock.
 16. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim15, which includes a plurality of steps.
 17. The vehicle wheel chocktire engager of claim 11, which is an outer tire engager.
 18. Thevehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 11, which is an outer tireengager interlockable with an inner tire engager which is pivotallyattachable to the front portion of the body of the vehicle wheel chock.19. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 18, which includes aplurality of steps.
 20. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim11, wherein the first pivot member includes a first arm and a firsthand, and wherein the first securing tongue is attached to the firsthand.
 21. The vehicle wheel chock tire engager of claim 20, wherein thesecond pivot member includes a second arm and a second hand, and whereinthe second securing tongue is attached to the second hand.